Folding support device for ball striking training device

ABSTRACT

A support device for ball striking practice is disclosed, which includes a pole to which a ball for striking practice can be tethered. The device is sufficiently stable to withstand the torque and other forces produced in the pole by such striking, but is also completely portable and can be easily transported from place to place and readily set up for use and taken down following such use. The pole of this invention folds easily into a compact package which can be stored, transported in a car or other vehicle, and subsequently can easily be unfolded and rapidly set up and locked into position for use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The invention relates to sports equipment, and more particularly toequipment that enables a player to practice striking a ball in a mannersimilar to actual play of a game.

2. Background Information

In many sports the object is to kick, hit or otherwise strike a ball.The skill of the player in such sports is usually directly related tothe player's ability to efficiently and repeatedly strike the ballaccurately and with appropriate force. To do this well requiresextensive and repeated practice. When a player wishes to practice,however; he or she often finds that it is inconvenient or difficult torecruit another person to throw or otherwise deliver the ball so thatthe player can practice his or her hitting or kicking. To that end anumber of different devices have been developed to enable a singleperson to practice hitting or kicking without the assistance of anyother person. Particularly useful of such devices are those describedand claimed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,296,582 and 6,514,161.

Such devices have normally been attached to poles which are sunkvertically into the ground, are mounted vertically in deep socketsdrilled into the ground or into some other playing surface, or areotherwise securely fastened in a vertical position. While poles thusmounted are quite functional for holding the hitting practice device,they are of course usable only in the specific location and are oftenpermanently fixed in place. Those that can be removed usually becomeunusable until replaced in the same socket, hole or mounting from whichthey were removed. It will also be apparent that bases and sockets forsuch fixed poles can only be placed in a limited number of locations andonce in place can be an impediment to other uses of the surroundingarea. It would therefore be of significant value to have a support polewhich can be moved from one location to another easily and convenientlyand will function well in many locations.

Some sports devices mounted on poles (such as basketballbackboards/nets) have in the past been attached to a simple heavy,circular base such as a concrete filled tire which supports the pole andstill allows it to be moved to various locations by tipping it androlling it by the edge of the base or tire. This works suitably forbasketball because in basketball a player's attempting to score a basketdoes not normally impart any major stresses to the pole other than therelatively modest impact of the basketball itself hitting the backboardor net. On the other hand, in sports such as baseball, soccer, softball,tennis and the like, hitting a ball which is tethered by a cord to thepole imparts significant torque to the pole, since in most such devicesthe tether holding the struck ball wraps itself rapidly and stronglyaround the pole and then resiles and rapidly unwinds in the oppositedirection to propel the ball backwards toward the player to be struck orkicked again. Such torque from the tether rapidly and repeatedlyreversing directions frequently causes poles mounted on simple basessuch as tires to wobble severely, to the point where the flight of theball is adversely affected and the pole can easily overturn.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is of sturdy and stable apparatus having a pole towhich a ball for striking practice can be tethered, and which issufficiently stable to withstand the torque and other forces produced inthe pole by such striking, but which is also completely portable and canbe easily transported from place to place and readily set up for use andtaken down following such use. The pole of this invention folds easilyinto a compact package which can be stored, transported in a car orother vehicle, and subsequently can easily be unfolded and rapidly setup and locked into position for use.

The apparatus or device of the present invention has a pole, a baseplateon which the pole is mounted, and legs which are hinged to the baseplateand which can be folded or unfolded, and means for locking the legs ineither folded or unfolded position. With the legs folded the device caneasily be stored or transported, and with the legs unfolded and lockedthe device holds the pole in vertical orientation such that a player canrepeatedly and vigorously strike a ball tethered to the pole. The playerthus can practice his or her skills of batting, kicking, swatting orotherwise striking a ball for extended periods, with the ball afterbeing struck returning quickly to the same position to enable the playerto strike the ball again. A player can thus practice his or her batting,kicking, etc. over and over again, to rapidly improve proficiency. Thepresence of another person to deliver the ball to the player iseliminated, thus enabling the player to practice his or her skills aloneand on his or her own schedule.

In a broad aspect, the present invention involves apparatus forsupporting a tethered ball for ball striking practice which comprises anelongated pole; a baseplate attached to an end of said pole; a collarslidably mounted on said pole; a plurality of legs hingedly attached tosaid baseplate; a like plurality of braces hingedly connecting saidplurality of legs to said collar; and locking means for releasablysecuring said collar to said pole at a position which will enable saidpole to be disposed in a vertical position; whereby when said collar isso positioned said braces bias said legs outwardly from said baseplateto form an open configuration supporting said apparatus with said polein said vertical position such that said ball may be repeatedly struckas part of said practice.

Other embodiments, aspects and details will be evident from thedescription below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an pictorial view showing an embodiment of the device of thepresent invention in its open configuration.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the device of FIG. 1 in openconfiguration.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the device of FIG. 1 in its closedconfiguration.

FIG. 4 is a detail view of a portion of a modified embodiment of thedevice of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a detail view partially in cross-section and phantom of abracket and latch pin for locking the device in open configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The device 1 of the present invention is most easily understood byreference to the Figures of the drawings. The device comprises a pole 2which in use is mounted vertically and is attached firmly to a baseplate4. Also attached to the baseplate 4 are a plurality of legs 6 (commonlyfour) to support device 1 in its open position; the legs 6 arepreferably essentially equally spaced around the periphery of the baseplate 4 and when extended radially are disposed generally horizontally.The legs 6 are designed to fold up toward the pole 2 somewhat in themanner of an umbrella so that the device 1 can be readily transported orstored. When folded the device 1 assumes the configuration of anelongated bar-like structure with a small cross-sectional profile. Theease of opening, closing and transporting, and the stability of thedevice 1 when opened, makes the device 1 very attractive for use bytraveling sports teams, college and school athletic departments, andathletic training and fitness facilities.

The pole 2 preferably extends to a length (vertical height) appropriateto permit adequate tethering of a ball 8 at the desired ball batting orkicking height. Typically the pole 2 will be on the order of 6-9 ft (2-3m) in length, depending on the space available for its use and theheights of the players who will be using the device 1. The pole 2 itselfwill be of sufficient diameter to withstand the repeated stresses of abatted or kicked ball 8 and its tether 10 rapidly and forcefullywrapping and unwrapping around the pole 2. Typically the pole 2 will bein the form of a hollow elongated cylinder, be made of metal, preferablysteel or heavy gauge aluminum, and have a diameter of about 2-6 in (5-15cm). If desired for storage and transport, the pole 2 made be configuredin two or more shorter lengths 2A and 2 b which can be joined to form asingle pole 2 of full length (as indicated by the dashed line 12 inFIGS. 1 and 3. The separate sections 2A and 2B can be designed totelescope together or they may be joined with a butt joint secured inthe manner of pipe joints, such as by a threaded sleeve. Any jointed orsectional pole 2 must, of course, have rigidity equivalent to that of anunitary single pole 2 when assembled.

The baseplate 4 to which one end of the pole 2 is joined will be a flatmetal plate, generally square and commonly of about 6-12 in (15-30 cm)on a side and of about 0.5-1.0 in (12-25 mm) in thickness. The plate 4alternatively may be circular or regular polygonal in shape and ofsimilar dimensions. It is possible to have base plates 4 of oval,rectangular or other shapes with dimensions extended in one directionrelative to the another dimension, but such shapes are not necessary tothe operation of the device 1 and may have adverse effects on itsportability or storage capability, and may also impede its stabilitywhen placed on an uneven ground surface 50, and therefore are notpreferred. The end of the pole 2 and the baseplate 4 are mostconveniently joined by welding, but could be removably attached such asby bolting. However, non-welded joints are more susceptible to looseningfrom the strong and rapidly shifting forces exerted on the pole andbaseplate during use, and are therefore less favored.

The baseplate 4 has extending from it a plurality of extended legs 6each of which is mounted to it by a first hinge 14. The hinges 14 aremounted on the top of the baseplate 4 so that the hinged legs 6 move inan arc from being aligned adjacent and parallel to the pole 2 (FIG. 3)to being aligned slightly below horizontal (i.e., at an angle of about100° from the pole 2; FIG. 2). The movement past horizontal upon openingwill be described further below. When open the legs 6 serve to stabilizethe baseplate 4 and pole 2 and to align the pole 2 in a verticalposition. Each leg 6 preferably terminates in an integral or attachedground-contacting foot 16 at its end distal to the pole 2. In theembodiment shown there are four legs 6. It is preferred that there befour or five legs to insure sufficient stability of the device. However,as few as three legs may be used and still have the requisite stabilityand greater than five legs may also be used, but greater numbers of legsdo not materially further enhance the stability. Also, as a practicalmatter the number of legs will be constrained by the space available onthe collar 18 for attachment of each leg's brace 20 as well asaccommodation of one or more locking devices 22 on the collar 18. It hasbeen found that in practice four or five legs 6 are the number than canbe conveniently accommodated, which provide sufficient stability of thedevice 1 when open, and which can conveniently be transported and storedwhen the device 1 is closed.

Each of the legs 6 also has a brace 20 attached to it by a second hinge24 located intermediate the length of the leg 6. Each brace 20 at itsother end is mounted by a third hinge 26 to the collar 18 which looselyencircles the pole 2 at a point above the level of the baseplate 4. Theinner diameter of the collar 18 should be slightly greater than theouter diameter of the pole 2 so that the collar 18 will traverse freelyalong the length of the pole 2, but not so great that the latch pins 28mounted on the collar 18 (see below) will have unduly long distances totraverse to lock the collar 18 to the pole 2 when the device 1 is in itsopen configuration. As the legs 6 are folded upward toward the pole 2 bypivoting on the hinges 14 mounted on the baseplate, the rigid braces 20rotate in the second and third hinges 24, 26 at their opposite ends andurge the collar 18 upward and the braces 20 and legs 6 move intoparallel alignment with the pole 2, as the closed configurationillustrated in FIG. 3. In this closed position the device 1 is readilytransported or stored. If the pole 2 is sectional it is desirable thatsection separation 12 be at least slightly above the ends of the foldedlegs 6 in the closed configuration, as indicated by line 12 in FIG. 3,to avoid having the ends of the legs 6 or the leg feet 16 become snaggedon the top of the lower section 2A of the pole 2 and impede reopening ofthe device 1 after closing. Such location of the section separation 12also allows the user to assemble a sectional pole 2 either before orafter opening of the device 1, since the collar 18 need not be sized toclear a section joint 12. When it is it is desired to use the device 1,the legs 6 can be unfolded back to their horizontal position and as thebraces 20 open downward and outward they simultaneously urge the collar18 downward along the pole 2 toward the baseplate 4.

In order to secure the pole 2 in position there are a plurality oflocking devices 22 mounted on the collar 18, which allow the collar 18to be locked into position at a certain point 30 on the pole 2 so thatthe legs 6 are restrained from folding and the device 1 is retained inan upright position. Each locking device 22 consists of a bracket 32attached to the outer side of the collar 18 and which has mounted on ita movable latch pin 28. A hole 36 is drilled in the collar 18 inalignment with the inward end of each latch pin 28 and a correspondinghole 38 to receive the latch pin 28 is drilled in the pole 2 at thevertical position where it is desired for the collar 18 to be positionedto lock the legs 6 as supports for the device 1. The outer end of eachlatch pin 28 is attached to a small handle 40 and within the bracket 32is a spring 42 which biases the pin 28 through the two holes 36, 38 whenthe handle 40 is released, as indicated as 28′, thus locking the collar18 into position with the collar hole 36 and pole hole 38 in alignmentand the latch pin 28 extended through them. Since the braces 20 arerigid they cause the legs 6 to be locked into their support position andthe pole 2 to be held in vertical alignment. When it is desired to foldup the device 1, the user grasps the handle 40 attached to a pin 28 andretracts the pin 28 so that it withdraws from at least the pole hole 38and retracts into the collar hole 36. A land 43 is provided on thebracket 32 to hold the handle 40 in the outward retracted position,which in the embodiment exemplified in FIG. 5 is accomplished by havingan oval or elliptical shape of the base of the handle 40 and of theretraction hole 44 in the bracket 32, so that the handle 40 can bewithdrawn to the outer side of the bracket 32 and then turned to rest onthe land 43 of the bracket 32, thus maintaining the pin 28 in itswithdrawn position. The collar 18 thus being disconnected from the pole2, it can now moved vertically upward along the pole 2, allowing thelegs 6 to be folded upward as described above. To relock the pin 28, thehandle is turned back, as indicated at 40′, allowing the spring 42 toagain bias the pin 28 into the collar hole 38 as shown at 28′.

The pole 2 may also have a second hole or plurality of holes 46 alignedwith one or more of the pins 28 when the device 1 is closed, so that thepins 28 can be engaged with the second hole or plurality of holes 46 toretain the device 1 in its closed configuration. This will prevent thedevice 1 from undesired opening during transport or storage.

In another embodiment the braces 20 may themselves be jointed at anintermediate position as indicated in phantom at 48 in FIG. 1. This canshorten the travel of the collar 18 as the device 1 is opened or closed.However, such is not preferred, since jointing or hinging of the braces20 may serve to reduce their rigidity and can introduce a potentialfailure point into the structure. As the device is subjected to strong,abrupt and rapidly changing stresses in use, introduction of locationswhich could be subject to stress failure is not advisable.

While the baseplate 4 of the device 1 could be allowed to rest on theunderlying surface 50 (e.g., the ground, a driveway, playgroundpavement, sports facility floor, or the like) with the legs 6 extendingessentially horizontally from the baseplate 4, it is preferred in orderto provide better stability to have the collar 18 lock into the pole 2at a position which causes the legs 6 to project downward below thehorizontal by a few degrees, as best illustrated in FIG. 2. This raisesthe baseplate 4 by a short distance above the ground surface 50 asindicated at 51. Conveniently when the device 1 is locked by the pins 28projecting into the holes 36 in the pole, the baseplate 4 is elevatedapproximately 2-6 inches (5-15 cm) above the underlying surface. Thecontact of the device 1 with the ground surface is therefore only at theoutward ends of the legs 6, conveniently through the feet 16 which aremounted at the ends of the legs 6. The device 1 thus is supported onlyat the outer ends of the legs 6, which results in the greatest degree ofstability against the device 1 leaning or tipping, since the device 1has no tendency to pivot on a contact point between the baseplate 4 andthe ground surface 50.

In a preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, there is a set ofwheels 34 attached to the underside of the baseplate 4 so that when thedevice 1 is folded for transport or storage, it can be rolled along theground, floor, sidewalk or other surface 50 and does not need to belifted or carried. Since the device 1 is made of strong metal,preferably steel, it has substantial weight and is much more easilymoved by being rolled on its wheels than by a user trying to carry thedevice. When the device is unfolded and mounted for use, it is preferredthat the legs 6 project sufficiently downward below horizontal so thatthe elevation of the baseplate 4 above the underlying surface 50 alsoallows for clearance of the wheels 34 above the surface 50, so that asdiscussed above the device 1 is supported entirely at the ends of theextended legs 6. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 there are a pair ofwheels 34 on one side of the baseplate 4, which allows the device 1 tobe tipped and rolled on that pair of wheels 34. Alternatively therecould be additional wheels (shown in phantom at 34′) on the other sideso that the device 1 when folded could rest entirely on the wheels 34.Depending on the material from which the wheels 34 are made, this couldbe advantageous for storage to avoid damage to a storage area floor fromthe metal baseplate 4 or in a storage location where it is inconvenientof difficult to tip the device 1 to move it; with additional wheels 34the device 1 when folded could be rolled in an upright position withoutneeding to be tipped. The manner of mounting the wheels 34, 34′ is notcritical, and they may be mounted in any convenient manner. Typicallythey will be mounted by bolting or welding the axles to the baseplate 4,as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, or alternatively by having atwo-wheel axle assembly with wheels on each end, which is bolted orwelded to the baseplate 4, or by having the baseplate 4 itself be formedwith downwardly protruding brackets (not shown) having apertures throughwhich axles could be extended, with the wheels 34 then mounted on theexternal ends of the axles. The axles can be fixed in place with thewheels turning on them or the wheel-axle assembly can be unitary withthe axles turning in the holes in the brackets. The wheels 34 in theembodiment shown are conveniently about 3-5 inches (7-10 cm) in diameterand are made of a sufficiently hard plastic or rubber material to allowthe device 1 to be rolled easily across rough and uneven services 50repeatedly without undue wear on the surface 50 or the wheels 34.

The device 1 may be used for many different sports, including baseball,softball, soccer, tennis or other racquet, bat or kicking sports. If anormal size device 1 is considered, whether the device 1 is to be usedfor a batting sport or a kicking sport will be reflected merely by wherealong the vertical pole 2 the ball 8 must be tethered. For batting orracket sports such as baseball or tennis the ball 8 will be tethered tobe generally level with the upper part of the player's body, whereas inthe kicking sports the ball 8 will be tethered lower on the pole 2 sothat the player can readily kick the ball 8 as it is unwound from thepole 2. However, the size of the device 1 may also be adjusted for thesport for which its use is intended and also for the facility in whichit will be used and for the players who will use it. The dimensionsmentioned above are suitable for devices 1 to be used by adult playersof up to high levels of proficiency, strength and agility. Smaller sizedevices 1 could be provided to use by children. Also, pole heights canbe varied if use of a device 1 is to be devoted entirely to a singlesport. For instance, devices 1 made solely for soccer kicking practicemay be shorter than those made for baseball hitting practice, since asoccer ball is usually on or near the playing surface when it is kickedwhile a baseball is usually at waist or chest height when it batted, sothe device sizes can reflect these differences.

Tethering the ball 8 to the pole 2 may be by suitable securing devices54 such as clamps, adhesive or mounting straps, as shown in the priorart. A preferred securing device 54 comprises a pair of elongated strapsto which the respective ends of a tether cord are bound. The straps havemounted on them strips of opposed hook-and-loop fasteners (e.g., thoseavailable under the trademark Velcro®) which will lock together when thestraps are wrapped around the pole 2 and the strap ends overlap on eachother. Different balls 8 and striking locations may be accommodated bymoving the securing devices 54 to different locations on the pole 2 orby adjusting the location of the ball 8 on the tether cord 56, also asdescribed in the prior art.

It will be evident that there are numerous embodiments of the presentinvention which, while not expressly set forth above, are clearly withinthe scope and spirit of the inventive concept. The description above istherefore to be considered exemplary only, and the scope of theinvention is to be limited solely by the appended claims.

1. Apparatus for supporting a tethered ball for ball striking practicewhich comprises: an elongated pole; a baseplate attached to an end ofsaid pole; a collar slidably mounted on said pole; a plurality of legshingedly attached to said baseplate; a like plurality of braces hingedlyconnecting said plurality of legs to said collar; and locking means forreleasably securing said collar to said pole at a position which willenable said pole to be disposed in a vertical position; whereby whensaid collar is so positioned said braces bias said legs outwardly fromsaid baseplate to form an open configuration supporting said apparatuswith said pole in said vertical position such that said ball may berepeatedly struck as part of said practice.
 2. Apparatus as in claim 1wherein said locking means comprises at least one bracket mounted onsaid collar comprising a movable pin which removably engages a firstaperture on said pole.
 3. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said firstaperture is disposed at a position on said pole such that when said pinis engaged with said first aperture said legs are disposed radially fromsaid baseplate at an angle of at least 90° to said pole.
 4. Apparatus asin claim 3 wherein said legs are disposed at an angle greater than 90°to said pole.
 5. Apparatus as in claim 4 wherein said legs are disposedat an angle in the range of 90° to about 100° to said pole.
 6. Apparatusas in claim 3 wherein disposition of said legs causes said baseplate tobe elevated above a surface upon which said legs rest.
 7. Apparatus asin claim 1 wherein release of said locking means permits said legs tobecome disposed adjacent and substantially parallel to said pole. 8.Apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising a tether for securing saidball to said pole.
 9. Apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising atleast one wheel attached to said baseplate.
 10. Apparatus as in claim 9further comprising a plurality of wheels attached to said baseplate. 11.Apparatus as in claim 9 wherein disposition of said legs causes saidbaseplate and said at least one wheel to be elevated above a surfaceupon which said legs rest.
 12. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said polecomprises a plurality of axially interfitting pole sections. 13.Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said plurality of legs comprises atleast three legs.
 14. Apparatus as in claim 13 wherein said plurality oflegs comprises four or five legs.
 15. Apparatus as in claim 1 whereinsaid locking device further locks said apparatus in a closedconfiguration wherein said legs are disposed adjacent and parallel tosaid pole.
 16. Apparatus as in claim 15 wherein said locking meanscomprises at least one bracket mounted on said collar comprising amovable pin which removably engages a second aperture on said pole. 17.Apparatus as in claim 16 wherein said second aperture is disposed at aposition on said pole such that when said pin is engaged with saidsecond aperture said legs are disposed adjacent and parallel to saidpole.